Minister Pharaon banks on religious tourism to offset 35% drop in the tourism sector

The Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon pledged during his visit yesterday to the ‘Religious Pilgrimage and Tourism’ association for Beit Anaya- Harissa that religious tourism will be one of the main pillars of his Ministry for the year 2016. Commending the cooperation between the tourism department and the above association, Pharaon said it should help in identifying existing opportunities and sharing with the world the landmark religious sites of Lebanon. To this effect, Pharaon announced the holding of an upcoming conference of Arab tourism ministers and ministers in Diaspora at the end of next May. During his visit, Pharaon pointed out to the expansion of rural tourism which he reportedly worked on boosting since he first became minister, noting the high occupancy rate achieved at the various guest houses across Lebanon during the months of July until October of last year. Finally, Pharaon  noted that rural tourism was in the past considered something of a fashion, while he saw it as a strategy to save the tourism sector which declined by 35% between 2011 and 2014. )Al Mustaqbal, February 15, 2016(